Kincardine doesn’t have a budget for 2011.
Iin a surprising move on Wednesday night — Council turned down the budget and thus the 12 per cent increase.
It was on Monday, March 28th that Kincardine councillors, some begrudgingly and some not at all, accepted a budget that called for the 12 per cent tax rate increase.
Councillor Randy Roppel wasn’t at that session but he was at last night’s meeting and he started the ball rolling while voting against a budget bylaw.
He says he couldn’t accept a 12 oer cent increase in taxes and he couldn’t ask the rest of the taxpayers to accept it.
Councillor Ron Coristine who also voted against the bylaw says the municipality has to get its house in order before it can go asking for more money from taxpayers.
Both Roppel and Coristine says council has to look at everything and that could mean staff cuts, program cuts and salary cuts.
In a recorded vote the budget was defeated on a tie vote — Councillor Candy Hewitt was absent.
Besides Coristine and Roppel, Anne Eadie and Mike Leggett voted against the budget.
Mayor Kraemer, Maureen Couture, Jacqueline Faubert and Ken Craig were in favour.
Meanwhile, Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer says he’s never heard of a budget being defeated by time it reaches the bylaw process.
He says they’ll have to re-visit the budget, particularly the capital budget and the reserves and take another look at them.
Kraemer says they’re not going to be prettier.
He says all the problems that were there before will still be there.
New budget deliberation dates will be announced soon by the municipality.
